call 
LD EO A 


A 


SERMON 


PREACHED AT THE 


wMevicatiow of the Church 


HANOVER STREET, BOSTON, 


MARCH 1, 1826. 


se 
BY Mj, STUART, 


Associate Professor of Sacred Literature in the Theo]. Seminary, Andover. 


| 


ANDOVER: 
PRINTED BY FLAGG AND GOULD. 


1826. 


SERMON. 


SDS 4o— 


Matthew xvi. 20. 


FOR WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY 


NAME, THERE AM I IN THE MIDST OF THEM. 


Sues was the declaration of the Saviour to his apos- 
tles. He had been giving them directions with re- 
gard to the mode of exercising discipline in the 
church, and had promised them special assistance 
in the discharge of this duty, when he uttered the 
words of our text. He had told them, that when 
two of their number should be agreed on earth, re- 
specting any thing which they would ask, it should 
be done for them by his Father in heaven. On this, 
he gave them assurance, they might rely; since no 
such request could escape his notice, or fail of at- 
tracting his aid. Wherever two or three are met to- 
gether, said he, in my name, there am I in the midst 
of them ; consequently the apostles could not fail of 
obtaining that aid which he had promised. 
Although these words had a particular reference, 
when they were first spoken, to the apostles, and 
were intended to satisfy their minds respecting the 


4 


assistance which their Lord and Master would give 
them, while employed in his service; yet, as there 
is nothing in the nature of the case which necessa- 
rily limits them to the apostles only, I shall consider 
them as addressed to Christians of every age, and 
applicable to all who convene in the name of Christ. 
Not that a promise of miraculous aid is to be extend- 
ed to all who are convened as the disciples of Christ ; 
not that every thing for which they now ask will be 
specifically granted, as it was to those who had a 
miraculous faith, and who asked for various things 
under special supernatural guidance. ‘The applica- 
tion of our text to Christians of every age, does not 
necessarily involve this. The assurance of Christ 
to the apostles, that whatever any two should agree 
in asking for, should be bestowed upon them, is 
grounded not on the fact that he would be specially 
present, and present only with them; but on the 
fact, that wherever his disciples might convene he 
would be present; and if such should be the case, 
they who were his personal friends and ministers of 
his gospel, might particularly expect his presence 
and aid. It is a promise of a nature similar to that 
which the Saviour made, at the moment of his as- 
cension, “ Lo I am with you always, even unto the 
end of the world.”* This was addressed to the apos- 
tles; and was designed in a peculiar manner to 
cheer their drooping spirits, and animate them in ~ 


1 Matt. 28: 20. 


5 


the great work which they were about to under- 
take. But who will say, It must be confined solely 
to them? Were they to continue to the end of the 
world? If not, then Christians in general, or at 
least the ministers of the divine word in general, 
down to the end of time, are meant to be included. 

This may suffice to shew, that our text can be 
properly adduced at the present day, and on this 
occasion, as applicable to an assembly of worship- 
pers convened in the name of Christ. 

If so, we may now proceed to inquire, 

I. What is it for an assembly of men to convene 
in the name of Christ ? 

II. What is implied in the declaration that he is 
in the midst of them ? 

Our English translation of the verse, which I 
have chosen as my text, hardly conveys to the com- 
mon reader of our language the force of the origin- 
al Greek. Such a reader would naturally suppose, 
that the phrase in my name means, by the author- 
ity or command of Christ ; as we speak of any thing 
being done in the name of the king, or in the name 
of the commonwealth. But this would be an entire 
misconception of the meaning of the passage before 
us. In the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, 
and in the Greek of the New, which very frequently 
(as might naturally be expected) imitates it closely, 
the word name is often employed only as a kind of 
periphrasis or circumlocution, in order to express’ 


6 


him, himself, i.e. the person to whom the word 
name refers. Thus the Hebrews say, Let the name 
of God be honoured, instead of simply saying, Let 
God be honoured. God says, I will reveal my name, 
instead of J will reveal myself. So our Saviour says, 
in the prayer which we familiarly call The Lord’s 
Prayer, Hallowed be thy name; which means, Be 
thou adored. 

From this very common usage in the Hebrew 
tongue it comes, that in the New Testament such 
phrases as for thy name’s sake, on account of thy 
name, often mean nothing more than for thy sake, 
on thy account. For example; ye shall be hated of 
all men.....for my name’s sake, i. e. for my sake.' 


of my name, i. e. on account of me ;?> Whoever shall 
forsake his family and friends.....for my name’s 
sake, i.e. on account of me;? Whatever ye shall 
ask in my name, i. e. on account of me, for the sake 
of my cause;* The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will 
send in my name, i. e. on account of me, or, for the 
sake of my cause; If ye are reproached for the 
name of Christ, i. e. on account of him, because ye 
are Christians ;° Whoever shall receive a litile child 
mm my name, i. e. on my account.’ 

It were easy to add many more examples of the 
same nature, but I forbear. I have produced these, 


1 Matt. 10: 22. 4 John 14: 13, 14. 6 1 Pet. 4: 14, 
2 John 15: 21. 5 John 14: 26. 7 Luke 9: 48. 
3 Matt. 19: 29. 


7 


merely to shew that I do not hazard any thing in 
asserting the sentiment of our text to be this; where 
two or three are convened on my account, for my 
sake, because of me. ‘The original Greek (eis 10 guoy 
ovouc) can scarcely admit of any other construction. 

To meet together on account of Christ, is to con- 
vene as his disciples; as having a common interest 
in him; and as possessing characteristics, which dis- 
tinguish those who do thus convene from other men, 
i. e. from the world around them. 

Men may convene for a great variety of purpo- 
ses, either of business or of pleasure. But it will 
not be affirmed that all conventions of this sort are 
for the sake of Christ. Nay, men may meet togeth- 
er for acts of religious worship, and yet not convene 
for the sake of Christ. Sober theists, like Lord 
Herbert, Jews, Mohammedans, nay idolaters, may 
meet together for the sake of social worship; but 
they come not together in the name of Christ; nor 
has he promised to be in the midst of such assemblies. 

There is something, then, which must distin- 
guish the Christian worshipper from all others ; 
something which makes him what he professes to 
be, a Christian, in distinction from an unbeliever, a 
heathen or polytheist, a deist or naturalist, a Jew, 
ora Mohammedan. Like every other religion re- 
ceived by men, Christianity has, and must have, 
some distinctive traits of its own which make it 
what it is; which make it Christianity rather than 


& 


Deism, or Judaism, or Islamism. The disciples of 
Christ, his true disciples, must of course recognise 
these traits. If there be doctrines and duties of 
Christianity, which differ from those of all other re- 
ligions ; then they who are the genuine followers of | 
Christ, and real converts to his religion, must re- 
ceive those doctrines, and practise those duties. 
Nor can any be truly said to meet together in the 
name of Christ, or as his disciples, who do not ad- 
mit the one, and practise the other. 

Surely a man could not, with any propriety, be 
called a Mohammedan, who should refuse to receive 
the Koran, and to practise the rites and duties which 
it enjoins; nor could he be called a Jew, who should 
reject the Pentateuch, and the peculiarities of the 
Jewish institutions. It cannot be any more proper, 
then, to consider men as real Christians, or to call 
an assembly convened for the purposes of worship, 
Christians, provided they reject the peculiarities of 
the Christian religion which make it what it is, viz. 
Christianity in distinction from all other religions. 

What then is it to come together as Christians ? 
What are those distinctive traits of belief or charac- 
ter, which separate Christians from all other wor- 
shippers; make them the subject of that promise 
which our text contains; and give them, therefore, 
the assurance that Christ will be present when they 
worship as his disciples 2 


9 


Christianity does not differ, as to every doctrine 
which it teaches, and every duty which it prescribes, 
from all other systems of religion. The better part 
even of pagans admitted some of the doctrines, which 
our religion inculcates. Many of the moral duties, for 
example, were taught with no small degree of force 
and perspicuity by Plato, Epictetus, Plutarch, Aris- 
totle, Cicero, Seneca, and others. The light of na- 
ture did much for such men; and the doctrines 
which they taught, and the duties which they incul- 
cated, so far as they were guided by that light, were 
altogether accordant with those which Christianity 
teaches and enjoins. 

But the difference, after all, is so wide between 
Christianity and any of the various systems of idol- 
atry and polytheism, that I do not thik it worth a 
moment’s delay, on the present occasion, to shew 
that a worshipper under the Gospel is of a very dif- 
ferent complexion from one who bows down to im- 
ages which his own hands have made; or worships 
the host of heaven ; or prostrates himself before he- 
roes and conquerors, whom superstition has exalted 
to heaven, and ranked among the objects of human 
adoration. 

Very different from all these, and at a great ad- 
vance beyond them, is the considerate theist or nat- 
uralist of modern times, the Jew, and the Moham- 
medan. These, I mean the sober and reasoning 
part of them, all eit in the belief, that there is 


10 


one only livmg and true God, spiritual, eternal, om- 
niscient, omnipotent, omnipresent, immutable, just, 
wise, good, merciful, and faithful; the creator, pre- 
server, and governor of all things; and the proper 
object of religious worship by all the creatures which 
he has made. They all agree, that man is a ration- 
al, accountable, immortal being, placed in a state of 
moral probation ; and that there is a future world, a 
judgment to come, a state of punishment for the 
wicked, and reward for the righteous. They all 
agree, that God is the proper object of prayer, and 
of secret and social worship; they assert the obli- 
gation of men to repent of their sins, and to forsake 
them; and they unite in a full acknowledgment of 
nearly all the moral duties which the gospel enjoins. 

I have said that the sober theist admits all this; 
and I might appeal to the works of Lord Herbert, 
Tindal, and others of past times; of Kant and Eber- 
hard, of recent memory; or to various writers of the 
present time, in proof of this proposition, were any 
disposed to doubt it. I presume, however, that none 
who hear me will doubt it. If then the naturalist, 
who rejects all revelation, and denies all supernatural 
intercourse between God and his creatures, admits 
thus much; we might well expect that the Jew, with 
the Old Testament in his hands, would go still far- 
ther. This is in fact the case; for he admits the au- 
thority of the Old Testament; the inspiration of 
Moses and the prophets ; that there is a Messiah to 


11 


come; and that God is not only to be worshipped by 
a life of prayer and the practice of social virtues and 
moral duties, but to be worshipped in the particular 
manner pointed out in the Old Testament, so often 
as this may be possible. 

The Mohammedan goes still farther, in the theory 
of his faith. He admits both revelations; that in an- 
cient, and that in later days; that by Moses and the 
prophets, and that by Jesus Christ. He admits them 
to have been of divine authority, and still to be sub- 
stantially so. But all that is essential in them, he 
believes is comprehended in the Koran; which, in 
his view, is the last and most perfect of aii divine 
revelations. 

How then does the disciple of Jesus differ from 
these various religionists? Not in the belief of one 
God ; not in maintaining the perfection of all his nat- 
ural and moral attributes; not in regarding him as 
the creator, preserver, and governor of the universe ; 
not in the belief that we are rational, accountable, 
immortal beings; that there is a judgment to come; 
that there is a future world of happiness, and anoth- 
er of wo, in one of which men will be placed, ac- 
cording to the character which they sustain in their 
probationary state; not in the belief that God is the 
proper object of prayer, and of private and social 
worship ; not in admitting the obligation to inculcate 
and practise all the social and moral virtues. So far 
as all these truths are concerned, the Christian occu- 


12 


pies ground in common with the naturalist, the Jew, 
and the Mohammedan. Why is he then a Chris- 
tian, and not a theist, nor a Jew, nor a Mohamme- 
dan? Plainly because he admits some other doc- 
trines, and practises some duties, that are peculiar 
to Christianity, and which exclude the peculiarities 
of the other systems of religion, that give names to 
their respective votaries. When Christians assem- 
ble, then, as the disciples of Christ, im a manner that 
comports with the name which they bear, they as- 
semble as possessed of some peculiar traits of char- 
acter, which distinguish them from all other wor- 
shippers. They meet together, indeed, to acknowl- 
edge and adore one only living and true God, pos- 
sessed of all possible natural and moral perfections ; 
as immortal beings; as probationers for eternity; as 
believing in a judgment to come; and in the rewards 
and punishments of the visible world. They meet 
together, acknowledging and inculeating the moral 
and social duties, and believing them indispensable 
in order to secure divine approbation. Thus far 
they go, in common with the rationalist, the Jew, 
and the Mohammedan. But the difference between 
these religionists and Christians, lies in something 
that is superadded to all this; something which they 
only admit, and must admit and practise, in order to 
be Christians. : 

What then are the peculiarities which distinguish 
them, and which render it proper to say of them that 


13 


they meet in the name of Christ, or on account of 
him? A very interesting and a very delicate ques- 
tion; one which, however, my text leads me to make 
an attempt briefly to answer. If I am not fully, lam 
at least in some good measure, aware of the respon- 
sibility and the difficulty of the case. But I am not 
going to dogmatize. I shall appeal to no councils ; 
no fathers; no creeds; no catechisms; no works of 
the schoolmen; no labours of acute and metaphysic- 
al divines ; in a word, to no human system whatever. 
All—all—of these are made by frail erring men. 
They are not of any binding authority ; and we have 
a warrant that is sufficient, not to receive them, or 
any of them, as possessing such authority. I advert 
to the warning of our Saviour, which. bids us call no 
man master upon earth; for there is one who is our 
master, that dwelleth in heaven. 

To THE LAW AND To THE TEsTIMoNy. What we find 
there, we may rely upon. All else is uncertain; to 
say the least, it is exposed to error. 

Will you allow me then, my friends, to make 
such an appeal as I have now described ? Instead of 
striving to please your fancy, by presenting you with 
fine imagery and poetic pictures, or with ingenious 
and subtle disquisition, or with speculation which 
might amuse and pleasantly beguile away an hour, 
will you permit me to carry you along with me over 
various parts of the New Testament, the record and 
statute book of our holy religion, and see what the 


14 


Saviour himself, his apostles, and the teachers in- 
spired by him, have taught us respecting the peculiar 
and distinguishing characteristics of real Christians? 
While you, my brethren, who are to convene in this 
house, expect to meet together to worship God, and 
inculcate the duties of morality, at least as much as 
others do who bear not the Christian name; you ex- 
pect also to come here in the name of Christ, and as 
his disciples. You intend to profess and to do not on- 
ly more than the pagan, but more than the naturalist, 
or the Jew, or the Mohammedan. I shall not attempt, 
within the brief limits assigned to this discourse, 
even to glance at all the peculiarities of the Chris- 
tian system, which as the disciples of Christ you are 
bound to maintain. The most that I can do, is mere- 
ly to present a few particulars, which are prominent 
among the characteristics that distinguish the Christ- 
ian religion from all others. More than this cannot 
be reasonably expected, from an occasion like the 
present. I observe then, 

1. You who are here to meet together in the 
name of Christ, must believe and trust in him as the 
true Messiah, the Son of God, and the only Saviour 
of sinners. 

Thus Jesus himself commissioned his apostles to 
declare. Go....preach the Gospel to every creature. 
He that believeth..... shall be saved ; but he that be- 
heveth not shall be damned. But what is it to be 


1 Mark 16: 15, 16. 


15 


saved? Another Scripture has answered the ques- 
tion; He that believeth on the Son, hath everlasting 
life, i.e. happiness. What is it to be damned? This 
inquiry also is answered; He that believeth not the 
Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth 
on him." Again, He that believeth on him, is not con- 
demned ; but he that believeth not is condemned al- 
ready, because he does not believe on the name of the 
only begotten Son of God. Thus said the Saviour, 
on another occasion, to the Jews; If ye believe not 
that I am He, (that is, the Messiah), ye shall die in 
your sins ;? in other words, remission of the penalty 
you have incurred, or pardon for sin, can be obtain- 
ed only through such a belief. John tells us, that 
the object of writing his Gospel was to persuade men 
to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, 
and that believing they might have life through him. 
He tells us again in his epistle, that he who believeth 
on the Son of God hath the witness in himself ; but 
he that believeth not God, hath made him a lar, be- 
cause he believeth not the record that God gave of his 
Son. What was that record? He proceeds to in- 
form us; This is the record that God hath given to 
us eternal life; and this life is in his Son’ What 
follows? He that hath the Son hath life; and he 
that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 


1 John 3: 36. 3 John 8: 24, 51 John 5: 10, 11. 
2 John 3: 18, 4 John 20: 31. 6 1 John 5: 12. 


16 


_ In full accordance with this, when the trembling 
jailer prostrated himself before Paul and Silas, and 
said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? they an- 
swered, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 
shalt be saved." 

But is there no other way of salvation? May we 
not be safe, if we adhere to some other prophet, 
some other system of religion? No; not if Peter 
is to be credited, who declared to the persecuting 
Jews, There is salvation in none other ; for there ts 
none other name given under heaven among men, 
whereby we must be saved.” The claims of the Sa- 
viour then are supreme, are exclusive ; they admit 
of no rival with him. The Gospel teaches that there 
is but one true religion, one right way to heaven; 
one Saviour of sinners. If before the Saviour came 
God winked at the times of ignorance, he no longer 
does so where that Saviour is proclaimed. He now 
commandeth all men every where to repent.’ 

But why are we to believe and trust in the Son 
of God, whom the Father hath sanctified and sent 
into the world? Because he is the Saviour, and on- 
ly Saviour of sinners. His name was called Jesus, 
because he was to save his people from their sins, i.e. 
from the power and penalty of sin. But how save 
them? Merely by instruction? By example? If 
he be a Saviour merely because he instructed the 


1 Acts 16: 31. 3 Acts 17: 30. 4 Matt 1: 21. 
2 Acts 4: 12. 


17 


people; then has Paul a better title to that name 
than he. Jesus wrote no part of our Scriptures; 
Paul wrote the most instructive parts of all. Jesus 
never travelled beyond the boundaries of Palestine ; 
he made but few converts to his religion: Paul tray- 
elled almost the world over; converted many thou- 
sands; and built up a multitude of churches. Yet 
Paul does not claim the honour of being the Saviour 
of men; neither do other Christians, his fellow men 
and cotemporaries, highly as they valued him and 
his labours, attribute it to him. 

Was Jesus an example of virtue? So was Paul. 
That Jesus was more spotless, does not render his 
example more imitable by us. If we can come up 
to Paul’s standard, our salvation is at least secure. 
Did Jesus die, to seal by his blood the truths of the 
holy religion which he taught? So did Paul. Did 
he exhibit the highest conviction of those truths 
which he taught, by unshaken attachment to them, 
amid every kind of persecution, suffering, and trial 2 
So did Paul. Did he work miracles, in confirmation 
of them? So did Paul. Was hea divinely commis- 
sioned instructer? So was Paul. Was he taught of 
God, as to the doctrines which he preached? So was 
Paul. Nay more; Paul was caught up into the third 
heaven, and heard unspeakable words, which it is 
not proper for man to utter; but this is no where 
said of Jesus. What then did Jesus perform, which 


Paul did not? In the office and duty of an instruct- 
3 


18 


er, a martyr, a prophet, a worker of miracles, a di- 
vinely commissioned messenger, a successful reform- 
er, simply considered as such, Paul was in almost all 
respects equal, in many respects superior, to him. 
Why is not Paul then, Paul the great apostle of the 
Gentiles to whom we belong, our exalted benefac- 
tor to whom we owe an eternal debt of gratitude, 
why is not he to be hailed as our Saviour? Why are 
we not to meet together in his name? 

Ah, my brethren, it is because there is only one 
name given under heaven, whereby we can be saved." 
Only one has made atonement for sin by his death, 
and brought in everlasting redemption for us. This 
Paul did not; Peter did not; James did not. They 
all were martyrs to the cause of truth. They seal- 
ed their testimony with blood. But it was only the 
blood of Abel, and not that which speaketh better 
things. But Jesus was wounded for our transgres- 
sions ; he was bruised for our imiquities ; the chastise- 
ment of our peace [i.e. by which our peace is procur- 
ed] was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed. 
oni The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us 
all) When he made his first appearance before the 
multitudes, assembled on the banks of the Jordan in 
order to be baptized by his forerunner John, he was 
proclaimed to them, by this inspired herald, as the 
Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the 
world’ But a Lamb is not an instructer, nor an 


1 Acts 4: 12. 21s, 53: 5, 6. 3 John 1: 29, 


19 


example of piety ; a lamb is a sacrifice, a propitiato- 
ry offering. 

When Christians look to Jesus as their Saviour, 
and only Saviour, they must consider him as Peter 
did; who tells us that he, his own self, bare our sins 
in his own body on the tree..... and that by his 
stripes we are healed.' They must believe with 
this same apostle, that we have not been redeemed 
with corruptible things, as with silver and gold..... 
but by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb with- 
out blemish and without spot.’ ‘This is that Lamb of 
‘God, my friends, to which John the Baptist pointed 
his followers ; that Lamb which by its blood was to 
redeem perishing sinners. 

Christians, who are to worship here in the name 
of Christ, you must believe with Paul, that we have 
redemption through the blood of Christ, even the forgive- 
ness of sins.’ Pauil says, too, that while we were yet sin- 
ners, Christ died for us,..... and that we are now justi- 
fied by his blood ; that when we were enemies to God, we 
were reconciled to him by the death of his Son.* He 
says, also, that Christ was once offered to bear the sins 
of many ;> and that if the blood of bulls and goats 
served the purpose of external purification, how much 
more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal 
Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your 


conscience from dead works, to serve the living God. 


1 1 Pet. 2: 24, 3 Col. 1: 14. Eph. 1: 7. 5 Heb. 9: 28. 
21 Pet. 1: 18, 19. 4 Rom. 5: 8—10. 6 Heb. 9: 13, 14. 


20 


John too unites his testimony with that of other 
prophets and apostles. Jesus Christ the righteous, says 
he, is the propitiation, i. e. propitiatory sacrifice, for 
our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the 
whole world.’ Again, the blood ca Jesus Christ cleans- 
eth from all sin.’ 

Such was Paul’s conviction respecting this part 
of the Saviour’s character and work, that he tells the 
Corinthians, he is determined to know nothing among 
them, save Jesus Christ and him crucified ;* not 
Christ the prophet, the teacher, the perfect exem- 
plar merely ; but Curis cruciriep. And though this 
doctrine was to the Jews a stumbling block, and to 
the Greeks, foolishness, yet he continued to preach 
Christ crucified, the power of God, the wisdom of 
God, our righteousness, sanctification, and redemp- 
tion. To the Galatians, who were inclined to glory 
in the rites of the Jewish dispensation, the same 
apostle says, God forbid that I should glory, save in 
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.’ 

Thus preached and wrote, apostles and martyrs, 
inspired of God. Thus you should believe and feel, 
my Christian brethren, when you meet together in 
this sacred place. And when you approach, here, 
the table of your Lord and master, in order to com- 
memorate his dying love; then believe, when you 
see and taste the symbol of a Saviour’s blood, that, 


11 John 2: 1, 2. 3 1 Cor, 2: 2. 5 Gal. 6: 14 
2 1 John 1: 7. 4 1Cor. 1: 23, 24, 30. 


21 


as he told his disciples when this holy feast was in- 
stituted, his blood of the New Testament was shed 
Sor many for the remission of sins.* 

Your thoughts, while you are convened in this 
sacred place, will often be directed to a brighter 
and better world. 'Fhere you hope to come, and 
mingle your song with that of the blessed above. 
You will remember then, that they, in unison with 
prophets and apostles and all the redeemed of God 
on earth, sing, Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed 
us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and 
tongue, and people, and nation.’ 

I will only add, that if, after all which you are 
taught respecting the atoning blood of a Saviour, 
you reject it, and renounce your hope and trust in 
it, you will subject yourselves to the awful sentence 
which an apostle has pronounced on all such; Jf 
we sin wilfully, after that we have received the knowl- 
edge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice 
Sor sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment 
and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adver- 
saries. He that despised Moses’ law, died without 
mercy under two or three witnesses; of how much 
sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought 
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, 
and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith 
he was sanctified, an unholy thing ; and hath done de- 
spite unto the Spirit of grace. For we know him that 


1 Matt. 26: 28. 2 Rev. 5:9. 


22 


hath said, Vengeance is mine, I will recompense, 
saith the Lord." " 

If there is any one point, which widely distin- 
guishes the Christian religion from all others, it is 
that on which I have now dwelt. No other religion 
presents you with a founder, who has made atone- 
ment for his followers by his own blood. Abraham 
did not; Moses did not; John the Baptist did not; 
Mohammed did not; none of the heathen even pre- 
tend to have done it. But Christ with his own blood 
entered the sanctuary above, having obtained eternal re- 
demption for us.” Here then is a difference heayen- 
wide between the sincere follower of Jesus, who be- 
lieves in him as such a Saviour, and the naturalist, 
the Jew, or the Mohammedan. Here is the funda- 
mental principle in which Christianity differs from 
all else that is called religion. When you meet in 
the name of Christ, you must believe, and acknowl- 
edge, and feel these truths.—But 

2. Another characteristic of true Christianity is 
love to Christ. 

The true disciples of Christ will not only love 
him, but love him supremely, in comparison with ey- 
ery created being and object. So the Saviour him- 
self demands. If any man come unto me, and hate 
not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, 
and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, 
he cannot be my disciple® Peter felt the flame of 


1 Heb. 10: 26—30. 2 Heb. 9: 11, 12. 3 Luke 14: 26. 


23 


such love glowing in his bosom, when he wrote thus 
to the Jews in their dispersion, respecting Christ ; 
Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though 
ye now see him not, yet believing ye rejoice with joy 
unspeakable and full of glory ;' and again, Unto you 
who believe, he is precious.” John also has told us, 
that whoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ, is born 
of God; and that every one who loveth him that be- 
gat, viz. the Father, loveth him also that is begotten 
of him, viz. the Son.’ 

From Paul we might expect the same testimony, 
drawn in glowing colours; and we are not disap- 
pointed. To the Ephesians he says, Grace be with 
all them that love the Lord Jesus Christ, in sinceri- 
ty. The Colossians he exhorts to seek those things 
which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right 
hand of God, and goes on to say, that their life is 
hid with Christ in God ; and that when Christ, who 
is their life, shall appear, they also shall appear with 
him in glory. He tells the Philippians, that he was 
in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and 
to be with Christ, which is far better’ 'To the Corin- 
thians he declares, that the love of Christ constrains 
him, viz. to labour and suffer, because he thus judg- 
éd, that if one died for all, then were all dead.’ And 
in closing his first epistle to them, such a sense had 

11Pet. 1: 8 4 Eph. 6: 24. 6 Phil. 1: 23. 


2 Pete 2s 7. 9 Col. 3: 1—4, 72 Cor. 5: 14. 
3 1 John 5:1. 


24 


the apostle of obligation to love the Saviour, that he 
declares, If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, 
let him be Anathema Maran-atha, i. e. accursed 
when the Lord shall come to judgment.’ 

If you say, “All good men, all prophets and apos- 
tles, are to be loved and reverenced ;” I concede it 
cheerfully. But the distinction between the love 
due to Christ and to them, is, that the former is su- 
preme. No created being or thing can come at all 
in competition with him. 

“ But are we to love the Son rather than the Fa- 
ther? Or more than we love the Father?’ I an- 
swer, We are to love the Father in him, and him in 
the Father The Father has no jealousy in respect 
to any degree of love which we may bear to the Son. 
He himself has proclaimed him to us, as his beloved 
and only Son, in whom he is well pleased? 

But I deem it unnecessary to dilate on this topic. 
It is so plain a case, that Christians ought to love 
Christ, and love him ardently, sincerely, supremely, 
that I do not expect there will be any to gainsay it. 
Whether we consider Christ in respect to what he 
is, or to what he has done, he is deserving of our 
highest love and gratitude. 

3. Another peculiar trait of Christians, as drawn 
in the New Testament, is, that they render religious 
homage to the Saviour. 


11 Cor. 16: 22. 2 John 14: 11. 3 Luke 3: 22, Matt, 3: 17. 


25 


On this topic, as well as on others, I stand not 
in this sacred place to descant as a polemic. With 
human creeds, or subtleties, or school distinctions 
and speculations, I have at present nothing to do. 
Creeds judiciously composed, supported by Scrip- 
ture, and embracing essential doctrines only, are 
useful as a symbol of common faith among church- 
es. But they are not the basis of a Protestant’s 
belief; nor should they be regarded as the vouch- 
ers for it. My object now is to inquire simply, What 
did the apostles and primitive disciples of the Lord 
and Saviour say and do, relative to the great subject 
before us? and the evidence of this shall be adduced 
merely from the sacred records. 

I observe, then, that the primitive disciples did 
render to the Saviour religious homage. They made 
him the object of religious invocation. When the 
apostles were assembled at Jerusalem, for the first 
time after the Saviour’s ascension to heaven, and 
were proceeding to elect another apostle in the room 
of Judas the traitor, they made invocation to the Sa- 
viour, and said, Thou Lord, who knowest the hearts 
of all men, shew whether of these two thou hast cho- 
sen. The time, the manner, the object of this prayer, 
and the appellation given to him who was addressed, 
all concur to shew that the Saviour is here meant. 
Stephen, the expiring martyr, who was filled with the 
Holy Ghost, and on whom the very visions of God 


1 Acts 1: 24. 
4 


26 


were opening, with his last breath invoked the Sa- 
viour, and said, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit... Ana- 
nias, when bid by Christ to go and comfort the per- 
secuting Saul, who had been subdued by the power 
of the Saviour, says, J have heard how much evil 
he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem; And 
here he hath authority from the chief priest, to bind 
all that invoke thy name” When the Christians in 
Judea heard of Saul’s conversion, they said with 
amazement, Js not this he, who destroyed them which 
invoked this name i.e. the name of Christ, 7a Jerusa- 
lem ?? In both these cases, they who invoke the name 
of Christ i.e. call upon him in prayer, is familiarly 
used as a mere periphrasis for Christians ; imply- 
ing, of course, that they who were the disciples of 
Christ, habitually invoked his name. Paul, in giy- 
ing an account before the Jews of his conversion, re- 
lates that Ananias came to him and said, 4rise, and 
be baptised, and wash away thy sins, invoking the 
name of the Lord ;* where the word Lord evidently 
means Christ. Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, 
says, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, 
shall be saved ;? where the context clearly shews 
that Christ is meant. The same apostle, in address- 
ing the Corinthians, at the commencement of his 
epistle to them says, Unto the church of God at Co- 
rinth..... with all that in every place invoke the 


1 Acts 7: c9. 3 Acts 9: 21. 5 Rom, 10: 13. 
2 Acts 9: 13, 14. 4 Acts 22:16. 


27 


name of the Lord Jesus,‘ i.e. all Christians; nam- 
ing them just as we have seen Ananias did, by men- 
tioning that distinguishing act of their religion, viz. 
invocation upon Jesus, which separated them from all . 
others. The same Paul, when he had a thorn in the 
flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet him, besought 
the Lord thrice, that it might depart from him? 
Here the context makes it quite certain, that by 
the Lord, Christ is meant. The same writer again 
points out Christians, in his first epistle to Timothy, 
by using the phrase they that call upon the Lord, as 
descriptive of them.’ 

Moreover the holy apostle, who in the visions of 
God saw heaven opened, tells us that the four living 
creatures, and four and twenty elders fell down be- 
fore the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and 
golden vials full of odours.* But what are these 
odours, which the leaders of the heavenly choir pre- 
sent, in the posture of humble adoration, to the Lamb? 
The writer has told us, they are the prayers of the 
saints i.e. of the church on earth. Here then it is 
made certain, that the Lamb is the object of invoca- 
tion by the saints on earth, and of religious adora- 
tion by the host of heaven above. 

Paul does not scruple to direct the same ex- 
pression of homage and praise to the Saviour, as to 
God the Father. At the close of his epistle to the 
Hebrews he says, Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for 


11 Cor. 1: 2. 2 2Cor. 12: 8. 3 2 Tim. 2: 22. 4 Rey. 5: 8. 


28 


ever and ever, Amen.’ Peter says the same thing; 
Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ ; to him be glory both now 
and forever, Amen.’ 

In heaven they do the same. Says the holy apos- 
tle who enjoyed the visions of God, Every creature 
which is in heaven, and on the earth, and such as are 
in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, 
Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto 
Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, 
forever and ever* Here, brethren, is that Lamb of 
God who has taken away the sins of the world, on 
the throne of the universe; here he is represented 
as worshipped by all heaven, in the same manner 

as He is, who sitteth with him on the throne. 

And why should not this be so, if the same apos- 
tle who relates this, is worthy of credit in his other 
declarations? He has said, that in the beginning was 
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the 
Word was God.’ He has told us that all things were 
made by him, and that without him was nothing made, 
which was made. He has said of the Son of God, 
this is the true God, and eternal life. Neither the 
grammatical construction, nor the idiom of the writ- 
er, allows us to refer this last declaration to any oth- 
er than the Saviour: 

Paul also has given us sufficient reason to regar 


Tfeb: tor 2)" 3 Rev. 5: 13, 5 John 1: 3. 
22 Pet. 3: 18. 4 John 1: 1. 6 1 John 5: 20. 


29 

the Saviour as the object of our worship. He has 
declared him to be God over all, blessed forever. 
He has affirmed of him, that in the beginning, he laid — 
the foundation of the earth ; that the heavens are the 
work of his hands ;....and that while they all shall 
perish, he is the same, and his years shall not fail.’ 
He has said that by him all things were created that 
are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and in- 
visible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or 
principalities, or powers: all things were created by 
him, and for him? In writing to Titus, the same 
apostle has described the gospel as teaching us to 
look for the blessed hope, and glorious appearing of 
the great God even our Saviour Jesus Christ ;* for 
so, I cannot doubt, the original ought to be trans- 
lated. 

Are any inclined now to ask the question, How 
can all this be true? My answer is, that facts them- 
selves are all that it concerns us to know. The 
manner in which things can be, is not important 
to us; and is indeed unknown, even in respect to 
the most common phenomena of nature. Facts I 
have now given you, on the authority of the divine 
word. If you ask, How could Christ be God and 
man? I answer with Paul, God was in Christ, ree- 
onciling the world to himself? God was manifest in 
the flesh ;° for after all the controversy about the 


1 Rom. 9: 5. 3 Col. 1:16. — 5 2Cor. 5: 19. 
2 Heb. 1: 10—12., Atay niae 6 1 Tim. 3: 16. 


30 


genuineness of this text, it seems quite evident to 
me that it must be acknowledged, according to the 
rules of criticism. Nor is what Paul asserts any 
more than John has told us, when he says that the 
Word was God,' and then declares that the Word 
was made flesh, and dwelt among us.” 'The same apos- 
tle too has told us of assertions which the Saviour 
himself made, that amount to the same thing. Who- 
ever, said Jesus to Philip when he had asked to see 
the Father, whoever hath seen me, hath seen the Fa- 
ther® And again, fam in the Father, and the Fa- 
ther in me." 

This is enough for the humble Christian, who 
receives the Scriptures as the word of God, and the 
only rule of his faith and practice. You, my breth- 
ren, who are to meet here in the Saviour’s name, 
will, I trust, call upon that name. You will worship 
the Father in him, and him in the Father. The man- 
ner in which natures human and divine are united 
in the person of the Saviour, you need not inquire 
after; you ought not to do it; for you can find no 
precedent for so doing, in the book of God. The fact 
is all you need to know; and the fact you ought as 
Christians to believe, and you must believe, if you 
pay implicit deference to the authority of the Bible. 

This then is another of the distinctive traits of 
Christians as such. They are not simple worshippers 


1 John 1: 1. 3 John 14: 8, 9. 4 John 14: 11. 
2 John 1: 14, : 


31 


of God, the God of nature; but worship God in Christ 
and through him. May your practice, in this res- 
pect, be like that of Paul, and Peter, and Stephen, 
and John, and of others whose names are written in 
the Lamb’s book of life! 

I shall notice but one more distinctive trait of 
Christians, on the present occasion. This is, 

4. That they obey the commandments of Christ. 

If ye love me, said the Saviour to his apostles, 
keep my commandments.’ Again, he that hath my com- 
mandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. 
Once more, if a man love me, he will keep my words.® 
On another occasion, he said to them, if ye keep my 
commandments, ye shall abide in my love ;* and again, 
ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.° 

The same apostle who has recorded this, has 
said, Hereby do we know that we know him, uf we keep 
his commandments. He that saith I know him, and 
keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth 
ts not an him.® 

To the same purpose Paul speaks, when ad- 
dressing the Christians at Rome he says, How shall 
we that are dead to sin, live any longer wn it?” And 
again, Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but 
under grace? God forbid. Once more, if any man 
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.° 

1 John 14: 15. 4 John 15: 10. 7 Rom, 6: 2. 


2 John 14: 21. ° John 15: 14. 8 Rom. 6: 15. 
3 John 14: 23. 6 1 John 2: 3, 4. 9 Rom. 8: 9. 


32 


But there would be no end of citing texts like 
these, from the New Testament. I will only add, 
on the present occasion, that whatever evidences 
any man may think himself to have of being a Chris- 
tian, if he have not this, that he keeps the command- 
ments of the Saviour, his religion is nothing more 
than profession, empty profession. No matter how 
orthodox he may bein his speculations ; if he be not 
so in his practice, it is all im vain. Faith without 
works is dead. The devils believe and tremble ;* 
but the devils do not obey. 

I have now done with this part of my discourse. 
I have left, and must of necessity leave, many pomts 
untouched, which belong to the Christian’s system 
of faith and practice, and which serve to distinguish 
him from religionists of other names. I designed 
only to bring to view some of the more prominent 
and important points, which render this dictinction 
palpable. I must hasten to my 

II. General head of discourse, which was design- 
ed for inquiry respecting the meaning of the declara- 
tion, that Christ will be in the midst of those who as- 
semble in his name. 

I shall say but few words in regard to this; as 
it needs but little illustration. When Christ says he 
will be in the midst of his disciples, the simple mean- 
ing is, that he will be present to aid and to bless them. 
It is of the same import as the phrase to be with one. 


1 James 2: 19, 20. 


33 


Christ promised his ministers to be with them al- 
ways, i. e. to aid and bless them always. So he 
promises Christians, whenever they assemble in his 
name, to help and to bless them. 

This promise will be fulfilled. His veracity is 
pledged for its fulfilment. But when Christians are 
every day convening in every part of the earth, and 
in a multitude of places widely distant from each 
other are meeting together at the same moment, 
how can his pledge be redeemed, unless Christ has 
a power of omnipresence ? It is difficult, rather (I 
may say) it is beyond our ability, even to imagine 
the possibility of this, unless the Saviour is invested 
essentially with divine attributes. You, my breth- 
ren, who are to meet here in his name, believe this ; 
and you have no difficulty therefore in giving full 
credit to what our text asserts. On this subject, I 
have no fears of raising your expectations too high. 
Only perform the conditions required of you as the 
disciples of Christ; meet here in his name, on his 
account, as his humble, devoted, obedient followers; 
and he will be in the midst of you, he will aid and 
bless you, in all that you are called to do and suffer 
for his name’s sake. 

It is with the design of so doing, and with the 
hope you may obtain the precious blessing which 
the Saviour has promised in our text, that you have 
associated yourselves into.a regular church, and 
erected this goodly edifice, where we are now as- 

D 


34 


sembled. You consecrated yourselves to your God 
and Saviour, when you first united with his children, 
in order to approach his table, and celebrate the mem- 
ory of his dying love. You repeated these solemn 
vows, before him who searches the heart, and before 
your fellow men, when you formed the religious as- 
sociation who are here habitually to meet in the 
name of Christ, and pay their homage tohim. And 
now you are come, having consecrated yourselves 
to him who redeemed you, to consecrate this holy 
temple, the fruit of your cares and labours, to him 
whose presence you hope will dwell in it—will be 
always here in the midst of you, whenever you as- 
semble. 

Come then, brethren, unite now with me, whom 
you have made the organ of communicating your 
views and feelings on the present occasion, in the 
dedication of this sacred structure to him. 

O God, whom the heaven and heaven of heavens 
cannot contain; who art worshipped in thine eter- 
nal courts above, by the general assembly and church 
of the first born; this edifice, in which we are as- 
sembled, with all that belongs to it, this temple rear- 
ed by mortal hands and designed for thy service, we 
consecrate to thee! To thee, Father of our spirits 
and framer of our bodies, our kind preserver, our 
constant benefactor, we consecrate it! Saviour of 
sinners, Lamb of God who takest away the sins of 
the world, who redeemest us to God by thy blood, 


35 


we dedicate it to thee! To thee, eternal Spirit, our 
Sanctifier, our Guide, our Comforter, we consecrate 
it! King eternal, immortal, invisible, only wise God, 
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, forever let it be sa- 
cred to thee! 

And now Lord God our Saviour, accept this vol- 
untary offering and consecration of ourselves, and 
ours, to thee! Fulfil now the desire of our souls, in 
respect to that gracious presence, for which thy dis- 
ciples assembling here are encouraged to hope! To 
the latest generation, may multitudes convene here 
in thy name, and find delightful proof that thou art 
in the midst of them! May this goodly structure, 
which has now been consecrated to thee, survive the 
vicissitudes of time, and be a soul refreshing place, 
for those who love thy precious name, down to the 
period of thy second coming! Then with the wreck 
of countless worlds, let it crumble to dust, at the 
sound of thine awful trumpet; and let those who 
have worshipped thee here, in the spirit of the gos- 
pel, at thy command shake off the sleep of ages; 
burst the bars of death; rise in thy glorious image, 
with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads, 
—rise and meet with all the ransomed of the Lord 
before thy throne, to worship in that temple not 
made with hands, eternal in the heavens! Amen. 


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